About 45,000 passengers were affected by the closure of Dublin Airport yesterday. The airport was expected to open late last night but would possibly only receive inbound flights.
Aer Lingus and Ryanair cancelled all flights from and to Dublin yesterday. Ryanair said it cancelled flights "in an effort to save customers and staff from unnecessary journeys to the airport".
A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta said snowploughs and clearing equipment were unable to keep runways clear during the day and conditions improved only late in the evening.
It was hoped the airport would open at 2 p.m. but visibility was too poor, she said. "Conditions were particularly bad. The snow froze very quickly underneath and just kept coming down," she added.
Airports in Shannon and Cork operated normally with some flights diverted from Dublin. A Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta, a Continental Airlines flight from Newark and an Aer Lingus flight from New York were diverted to Shannon. An Aer Lingus flight from Paris was diverted to Cork.
Belfast City Airport opened late at 9 a.m. but with two-hour delays. There were delays of between one and 1 1/2 hours at Belfast International Airport due to the cancellation of early-morning flights.